Connecting Hearts
by Loganna
Summary: Naruto is tired from training and fell asleep against Jiraiya's back. Ero-Sennin leaves his disciple and takes off.  Jiraiya, now only a dot against the horizon, has no idea who is approaching his beloved student.   One-shot, naruto shippuden, 93


**Author's note: **first Naruto story. I'm not a writer and I'm not a native speaker of english.

**Disclaimer**: everything belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, I don't own anything.

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><p>The sun heated the earth letting the water that was left in the dried soil to evaporate. The surrounding air sucked the vaporised water up, causing the horizon to vibrate. I saw the hill with the tree surrounded by grass fields in the distance. Jiraiya, whom had left him at the tree, was now only a small shadow across the brightly lit horizon.<p>

My eyes traced the outlines of the tree. Although I couldn't see him, I sensed he was there. His chakra flowed trough his body in an even but rather slow pace. Meaning he was at ease, probably asleep, and had no idea I was coming closer with each step.

I walked in a steady pace down the dried earth path that brought me to the hill. Grasshoppers made the characteristic high pitching sound with their wings and legs to attract the females. Besides the sound the grasshoppers made, nature was almost quiet. Except for a few swallow-shaped birds that crossed the land in search for insects that gathered not even a meter above the ground. There was little wind, but it was welcoming, giving me the refreshment I sought in this boiling heath. My shirt was half-unzipped and the breeze touched the bare skin of my chest, cooling it down. My black shinobi boots made a crackling sound on the dry soil, causing the grasshoppers to wait in silence until I had passed by, before calling out again.

I made the tree blurry and concentrated on the horizon behind it. The sun was too bright and I had to narrow my eyes. There was no sign of shadows, meaning Jiraiya didn't know I was here, and no one else was approaching either. No one would disturb me in what I was about to do.

The path made a turn to the right to meander trough the grasslands to Konohagakure, but Konohagakure was not my destination, yet.

I left the path, and entered the grass. Grasshoppers sprung in front of me to take cover, making my surrounding quiet for a while. I stopped to gaze at the horizon again, to make sure no shadows appeared. None. I closed my eyes to concentrate if I felt chakra anywhere near, but there was no sign, it was safe.

I resumed my walk up the hill. The tree was tall and casted a big shadow across the grass. I couldn't see him but I sensed his chakra still floating slowly on the other side of the trunk. I reached the tree at its sunny side, Naruto was behind it.  
>I walked around the tree and saw him lying on the ground, fast asleep. He had sweat drips on his skin, probably from training and the heath. I saw an ice-stick resting in his hand on his lap, the sticky melted ice cream stuck to his fingers. He lay down in the shadow but the sun shone trough the leaves of the tree, leaving spots lit on his face and body. I drew my chokutō*, it made a cutting sound in the middle of the peaceful silence. I swung it, splitting the air in half, and held it across Naruto's sweating and pulsing throat. I pushed the blade just a little in his skin, but it didn't draw any blood. A drip of sweat rolled from his chin down his throat on the blade. I looked at him, 'Was this what I've always wanted?' I was surprised Naruto didn't wake up, but maybe my intentions were clear to him, there was no threat, I didn't came here to kill.<p>

I pulled the blade away from his skin and shoved it, in one fluent move, back in its holder on my back.

I glanced up at the sky, the sun stood high and mighty across the sky, to never fade again.  
>Without another thought I sat down besides him. I leaned back against the trunk of the tree, with one leg up and my hand resting on my knee, I looked at his face. His features were strongly emphasised by the shadows and the lit spots that the sun casted upon his face. A soft snoring came across his lips, stating he was still fast asleep. I shifted my gaze from his face to the grass. A small wind blew through the leaves of the grass, making it move like waves.<p>

I heard a sudden thud and felt a head resting against my shoulder. I looked at him, his eyes were still closed and the soft snoring continued. He hadn't woken up, on the contrary, he was still far away in his dreams. I leaned my head back against the tree to close my eyes for a while, 'This is how it always should have been.'

After a few moments I felt him rustling against my shoulder. I opened my eyes, the sun had already moved across the sky and was now warming my shoulder with its rays. I heard mumbling from my right. The voice I used to hear so often, mumbled a few words to himself, while he made himself comfortable against my shoulder. Possibly still thinking it was Jiraiya.  
>I felt his hand rustle and grab the fabric of my shirt between his slender, tanned fingers. He made another soft sound, he was waking up. I didn't move, preparing for the worst. He slowly moved his other hand up his nose, to scratch it. He slowly opened his eyes a little, they immediately narrowed, surprised by the bright light. He groaned, not wanting to get up. I all watched this in complete silence, soon enough the silence would come to an end, 'Lets enjoy it while we can.'<br>He stretched his arms up his head, and a low voice came, "How late is it?"

"Four o'clock." I calmly said, no emotion in my voice.

His stretching stopped, his whole body stopped moving. His eyes opened with caution, not sure if he had heard it right. He slowly turned his head and faced me. He stared into my eyes, not believing what he saw. His eyes moved rapidly across my face. His mouth formed words but there was no sound.  
>For seconds nothing happened, I only heard his rapid breathing, his body tensed as a reaction to the situation. He winked before stuttering my name in a whisper. He licked his lips, "S- Sasuke." This time his voice was clear and louder.<p>

"That's me, dobe." Thinking this would bring him back from the state of shock he was in. I wanted to chuckle, his face and reaction were beyond my expectations, but I was in no position to start laughing. Years I had been away from Konohagakure, for years I've made him suffer.

He suddenly got into crouching position and stood up. I followed him with my eyes. He looked down at me from his standing position, before turning around and taking a few steps until he stood still. He didn't say anything. The silence was heavy, loaded with past memories, it was precisely how I had predicted it. His arms hung loose besides his body, hands not clenched in fists, a sign for me that he wasn't angry or upset.

"What are you doing here?" His voice sounded normal, but not as cheerful as it always had been. I lowered my eyes in defeat and looked at the grass at my feet. I had no answer to that question. The grass still moved like waves, grasshoppers seemed to enjoy the movement and danced upon them. When the leaves moved they got a silver glow, with reminded me of the sun's reflection in the lake. It was silent, neither of us said anything but the pressure of the silence stayed the same.

"You're back."  
>From the grass, I shifted my gaze towards him. He stood there, firm. His back dark in the shadow, but the edges of his body and clothing were glowing with the sunlight. The horizon behind him was still moving by the heat. I looked at the back of his head, the ends of his headband were blown in different directions by the wind.<p>

"Yes."

His fingers twitched immediately. A flock of birds crossed the sky, casting small shadow upon the land. The wind jerked at the fabric of his trousers and jacket.

"Stand up."  
>Not in the mood or position for questioning, I pushed myself up and stood tall on both my feet. Within an instant the wind played with my hair. With the sound of rustling leaves, Naruto turned around. His face stood serious, his eyes were just a tad narrowed and his lips didn't move. He walked towards me, because of the shadow and the distance I couldn't read his eyes. As he came closer I saw that they showed nothing. The loudmouth who I always could read so easily was a closed book to me now. When he stood right in front of me, only inches away, he searched my face with his eyes. I stood there, not moving a muscle, hardly breathing, waiting for my sentence. 'Will it be black or white?'<p>

His lips parted, I saw his chest was rapidly rising and falling, he breathed fast. Suddenly he let his head fall down, his hair covered his face so I couldn't read it. His back and shoulders started to shake, just a little. My eyes shifted from his head to his back, to his hands. His arms still hung loosely at either side of his body, fingers relaxed. His shoulders started to shake more. I listened but I only heard the sound of nature and nothing else. I tensed, every muscle in my body was preparing for some sort of impact, physically or mentally. But none of that came.

Suddenly he lifted his head. His face was covered in tears, they were rolling down his cheeks and crossed his lips. His smiling lips, his whole face was smiling. It felt like he was glowing. With closed eyes and with a wavering voice caused by his sniffing he said, "I'm really glad you're back."

I gasped, every muscle in my body relaxed, my raised shoulders fell down, my body felt light and numb. My eyes were locked on his face, on the person who made me feel like this. Relief overwhelmed me, this was what I was waiting for, this was what I wanted.

I reacted, I grasped his wrist with my hand and laid another hand upon his back to pull him close. His smell was sweet, just like how the sun would smell. His hair blew in my face and I felt his breath against my neck and shoulder. A shudder came trough my body when I felt him softly laugh and wrapping his arms tightly across my waist. It was utterly hot, his body made me feel like I was standing in the middle of the rays of the hot sun. He buried his nose in my shoulder and laughed soft and relieved. I felt his tears wetting my shirt . He clenched the fabric of my shirt between his hands and pushed me closer against his chest.

It wasn't until then I noticed I was crying. Accumulated emotions were escaping my body. I felt light because the heavy emotions were pouring out and I felt free. I sniffed awkwardly, I couldn't help it, my relief was too great to be suppressed. I buried my own nose against his neck, smelling his wet skin. My throat felt dry and chocked with tears, but it felt like something welcoming. I had no idea what I should say, how I was supposed to express how thankfully I was towards him.

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><p><strong>*Chokutō <strong>is the sword Sasuke wields in the manga and anime, he calls it the Sword of Kusanagi. The Kusanagi no Tsurugi litterally means "Grass cutter sword" wich is derived from a japanese legend. (Source )

**I want to thank you for reading this!** And please, please let me know if/what you liked/disliked (about) it.  
>One word reviews are most welcome!<br>If you found any language mistakes, let me know!


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